Creative Involvement of Community-Based Disability Organizations

Case Studies 11

This brief is part of a series of products offering practical solutions for Local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers as they strive to serve all customers, including those with disabilities. Topics covered in other briefs include fiscal issues, strategies for maximizing staff comptencies, and partnerships with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). The source of the information presented in this brief is from case studies conducted in Los Angeles, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Wilmington, Delaware; New Orleans, Louisiana; Utica, New York; and Clark County, Washington. These case studies were conducted by researchers at the Institute for Community Inclusion at University of Massachusetts Boston.

Introduction

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) facilitates partnerships among organizations for more coordinated
service delivery to all job seekers. Although the state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency is the only
disability agency or program that is a mandated partner under WIA, community-based disability
organizations (CBOs) can also work with One-Stop Career Centers to enhance their capacity to support
customers with disabilities.

Through case study research, the Institute for Community Inclusion identified several models of
involvement between CBOs and One-Stops. These models illustrate that organizations can be creative
in developing their partner roles to meet the needs of both their staff and their customers.

The Critical Role of CBOs

Community-based disability organizations can be critical to the success of job seekers with
disabilities using the One-Stop system. They are often instrumental in equipping One-Stop staff with
the skills and resources they need to better serve this customer group.

A Win-Win Situation

CBOs can offer One-Stops:

Expertise identifying and contacting additional local resources such as support, advocacy, and
self-help groups

One-Stops can offer CBOs:

Access to a variety of workshops for their clients, such as resume development and interviewing
skills

The opportunity to develop job leads, either in conjunction with the client or independently

Access to space and other resources of the One-Stop through partnership agreements

Models of CBO Involvement

Community-based disability organizations can be involved with the One-Stops in many different ways.
Each model of involvement brings particular characteristics and innovations to the collaboration.

Model #1: Disability organizations as One-Stop operators

Los Angeles, CA and New Orleans, LA

Goodwill Industries was a One-Stop operator in both Los Angeles and New Orleans. Goodwill Industries
International serves people with workplace disadvantages and disabilities by providing job training, job
placement opportunities, and post-employment support. The role of One-Stop operators can vary, and ranges
from coordinating service providers within the One-Stop to being the primary provider of services at the
One-Stop (WIA sec. 121[d]). Prior to becoming a One-Stop operator in Los Angeles, Goodwill Industries
was a small provider offering employment services to people with significant barriers to employment.
When One-Stops were introduced in California, Goodwill became a satellite (specialized off-site
location), later expanding to a full-service center.

Model #2: Disability organizations as co-located partners

New Orleans, LA

In New Orleans, several staff members from the Louisiana Business Leadership Network (LBLN) were
co-located at the New Orleans Adult Career Center. LBLN, an organization of business leaders, received
a U.S. Department of Labor grant to improve job options for people with disabilities. Three employment
specialists funded through this grant worked at the One-Stop four afternoons per week, carrying a
caseload of approximately 15-20 individuals each. LBLN staff offered training and technical assistance
to other One-Stop staff who worked with people with disabilities. LBLN staff also focused on developing
relationships with businesses, ensuring that they were familiar with the benefits of hiring workers with
disabilities.

Utica, NY

The Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL) is an organization that supports the rights and
integration of people with disabilities into local communities. From the time of WIA's implementation,
RCIL worked closely with the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) to reorganize the workforce investment
system and increase its accessibility. The organization had regularly scheduled staff at the One-Stops,
ensuring total integration. RCIL staff provided training on accessibility and ordered adaptive equipment
in addition to working with individual job seekers. At the time of ICI's research, RCIL had recently
developed a grant proposal with One-Stop staff that put together a consumer team to work with all the
One-Stops.

Colorado Springs, CO

Like the U.S. Department of Labor grant that enabled New Orleans One-Stop and LBLN staff to work
together, the Colorado Springs One-Stop was also the site of a grant designed to improve employment
outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The Pikes Peak One-Stop in Colorado housed a State
Partnership Systems Change Initiative grant. This initiative, entitled Project WIN and administered
by JFK Partners at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, created two disability resource
specialists (Consumer Navigators) who helped guide individuals with disabilities through the One-Stop
Career Center system. Consumer Navigators worked directly with One-Stop customers seeking employment in
the local community to ensure that customers had access to the required services and benefits and learned
how to "navigate themselves" through the systems. Other services navigators offered include providing
resource information (including linkages for specific services), troubleshooting problems, and
conducting outreach to underserved groups.

Some One-Stop systems allow agencies and organizations to become self-service and satellite centers.
Satellite centers provide more limited or specialized services than comprehensive centers. Self-service
sites are usually computer workstations or kiosks where individuals can access One-Stop services without
staff assistance. Typically these self-service sites are in public libraries, government offices, or
shopping malls. The existence of satellite centers and self-service sites varies greatly from state to
state and within states. By becoming a self-service or satellite center an agency can receive benefits
such as funding or additional services. The following are examples of disability organizations that
have pursued this option.

Clark County, WA: Van Tech

Off-site locations enable One-Stop services to be more accessible to nontraditional customers. For
instance, Van Tech, a community rehabilitation provider that offered day and employment services for
individuals with disabilities, housed a self-service site to the One-Stop system. Although the
self-service site did not have the full array of One-Stop resources, it provided an introduction to
community-based employment and One-Stop services for individuals with significant disabilities.

Clark County, WA: Clearview Employment Services

Clearview Employment Services, the vocational program within Columbia River Mental Health Services, had collaborated informally with the One-Stops for many years. Some of the partnership strategies
undertaken included training on mental health issues at the One-Stops and assisting individuals with
mental illness who were homeless to use One-Stop services. This grant project ultimately resulted in
the program applying to become a self-service site within the One-Stop system.

Model #5: Disability organizations as external collaborators

Los Angeles, CA

Three disability organizations were prominent partners in Los Angeles acting as external
collaborators. The Los Angeles Department on Disability provided ADA compliance training and
established an ADA fund to support city departments in obtaining assistive technology. The Braille
Institute developed a job readiness and preparation program that allowed students with visual
impairments to job shadow One-Stop Center staff. Students obtained a sense of what it was like to
both use and work at a One-Stop Center, and One-Stop staff got the opportunity to interact with
individuals with disabilities and enhance their assistive technology skills. AIDS Project Los
Angeles, one of the nation's largest AIDS service organizations, actively participated in planning
and implementing One-Stop services for this population.

Strategies for Involving Community-Based Disability Organizations in the One-Stops

Conclusion

Creating successful partnerships with community-based disability organizations allows One-Stop
partners to access their expertise. Likewise, job search and placement resources are available to
individuals served by the CBO. No matter the type of involvement, such collaboration can only
positively affect service design and delivery for job seekers with disabilities. Ultimately, such
linkages allow entities to capitalize on each other's strengths and resources and reinforce the
commitment to provide better supports for One-Stop customers with disabilities.

One-Stop operators

Brings disability expertise to the operator role, strengthening the ability of the One-Stop to
meet the needs of people with disabilities

Expands expertise on working with individuals with disabilities to other populations with
employment challenges

Keeps the WIB more in tune with disability issues

Co-located partners

Creates close proximity that facilitates formal and informal training, consultation, and
technical assistance to those less familiar with disability issues

Expands menu of service options available to One-Stop customers

Partners in federal grant activities

Creates a leadership position for CBOs, giving them the latitude to create highly visible
services and drive the change process

Satellite and self-service centers

Can open the door to competitive employment for those in non-competitive employment programs

Allows those who find comprehensive One-Stops overwhelming the option of job searching in a more
familiar location

Puts all the electronic resources of the One-Stop system at the disposal of the CBO and its
clients, making it easier for them to access rather than having to physically go to the to
comprehensive One-Stop

Expands the capacity of the One-Stop system to meet the needs of more customers

External collaborators

Infuses disability issues into training and service delivery without working directly with job
seekers

Keeps disability issues in the forefront when strategizing, planning, and implementing services

If you have comments or questions on this publication, or need additional information please contact:

This is a publication of the Center on State Systems and Employment (RRTC) at the Institute for
Community Inclusion. This center is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education (grant #H133B980037). This research was also
supported by the Academy for Educational Development through a subcontract from the Office of
Disability Employment Policy/U.S. Department of Labor. The opinions contained in this publication
are those of the grantees and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Labor or
the U.S. Department of Education.

The authors would like to thank the individuals who were interviewed at each site for their time and
openness in sharing their experiences and suggestions as part of this research. We would also like to
thank Allison Cohen, Cori DiBiase, Danielle Dreilinger, Sheila Fesko, Doris Hamner, David Hoff, and
Elena Varney for their editorial assistance.

Copyright 1992-. ICI is
affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Boston and Boston Children's Hospital . Permission to use, copy, and distribute all documents
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